


Innocence Attracts

by rebelhearts



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-15
Updated: 2016-05-15
Packaged: 2018-06-08 16:34:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6863542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebelhearts/pseuds/rebelhearts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Riley/Lucas one shots based off GMW episode titles and plots.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Girl Meets Semi Formal

**Author's Note:**

> 'Girl Meets Semi Formal' Synopsis: Riley agrees to go to the school's annual semi formal dance with the new kid in school. Lucas doesn't react too well to this and ends up asking the last person anyone expected.

 

Fifteen minutes. That's how long he'd lasted in the school gymnasium before he couldn't take it anymore. How had he gotten himself in this situation? Lucas Friar had never been the type of guy to let something like this bother him. She was just a girl. He'd liked girls before, so why was dealing with what he witnessed in there so difficult?

 

_Because she's not just any girl._  The voice in his head taunted.

 

Lucas banged the back of his head against the wall outside of the gym doors as he let out a frustrated sigh. He knew the voice in his head was right. Riley Matthews wasn't just any girl. She was unlike any girl he'd ever met, any girl he'd ever liked. With her, he felt like he could start over and be the type of person he's always wanted to be. She made him want to be better because he could tell she believed in him. No one else had ever made him feel that way.

 

_So, why is she not dancing with you right now?_

 

With a groan, Lucas banged his head against the wall again. He'd messed up. Big time. He'd let that new exchange student from England steal his moment. God, this felt like Farkle all over again with the school play. He was supposed to give Riley her first kiss that day, but it never happened. Farkle had sabotaged the whole scene. At least Lucas didn't have to worry about him anymore. They were friends now and Farkle respected his feelings for Riley. Plus, Lucas ended up getting that first kiss eventually.

 

He smiled a little at the memory, remembering how her hands had trembled slightly when she'd grabbed his face in her hands. Then, before he could even process what was happening, she'd planted her lips on his. He definitely hadn't expected it since he'd always imagined that he would be the one to initiate their first kiss. But, this was the year 2015 after all. Who says girls can't make the first move? It was actually kind of a relief now that he thought about it.

 

Unfortunately, Lucas didn't think this situation would end as well as that one did. He'd let Riley get away with  _Charlie_. He couldn't even think of the kid's name without grinding his teeth together. It wasn't that Charlie was a bad person. He'd been nice enough to everyone in class since he'd arrived a month ago. The problem was that he was getting a little too chummy with Riley for Lucas' comfort. What was even worse was that Riley wasn't stopping him.

 

Hadn't he and Riley come to an understanding? They both knew they liked each other, so what was she doing? He hadn't even looked at another girl since he realized his feelings for her. How could she be at the dance with someone who wasn't him?

 

Another bang of his head against the wall was now in order because he knew he was being a hypocrite. He couldn't really be mad at her for not coming alone when he hadn't come alone either. In fact, his date tonight was probably even worse than hers because it was her best friend. Yes, Lucas had asked Maya to the dance. But, of course, Maya saw right through him. She knew he wasn't asking because he actually wanted to. When she tried to get the real reason out of him, he was too embarrassed to admit that he was only asking her to make Riley as jealous as he felt right then. It was a horrible idea; he knew that. Maya was his friend and he shouldn't be using her for his own selfish reasons. Especially if it was going to hurt her relationship with Riley. Lucas knew he wasn't the type of guy to do these kinds of things, but he felt like he had no other choice. When he saw Riley agree to go to the dance with Charlie last week during their lunch period, he felt like he'd been punched in the gut. That should've been him asking her.

 

Thankfully, Maya agreed to go with him. But, she made it clear that it would just be as friends. That's what she was telling Riley and she wanted it to be the truth. Lucas agreed, even though it would go against his plan of making Riley jealous. It was no use anyway. Riley hadn't even looked in his and Maya's direction since she'd gotten to the dance with Charlie. She was completely engrossed in whatever lines that British kid was feeding her.

 

Lucas sighed. He should've known his plan wouldn't work. It was stupid from the moment he thought of it. He guessed it was true what they said: jealously was an ugly green-eyed monster. It made people do stupid things.

 

The sound of the gym door being opened and shut caused Lucas to snap out of his thoughts. He turned his head to the left to see Riley standing there, looking back at him. Even though he was upset at her, he couldn't stop the way his breath was stolen from his lungs at the mere sight of her. She looked beautiful tonight in her long pale yellow dress with her hair perfectly styled for the occasion. Usually he welcomed the way she seemed to affect him, but tonight he wished he could just ignore it. If she didn't look so angelic right now, he probably could have.

 

"Hey." She said softly.

 

"Hey." He replied instantly.

 

He had to bite his bottom lip to keep himself from smiling. This was their thing. No matter what was happening between them at any given moment, they always did this. Always greeted one another with a simple 'hey' or 'hi'. It seemed to be the way they started most of their conversations; specifically, the ones that were going to mean something. At first, he'd thought this little back and forth greeting between them was just from being nervous around each other because of their feelings. But as time went on and they became more comfortable around each other, he realized it was more than that. These simple phrases that people threw around everyday was the way he and Riley connected. It only took one word, one syllable, for both of them to listen to one another. Because of those small words, he and Riley never got lost in silence. One of them would always talk, and the other would always listen. 'Hi' and 'hey' might not mean much to most people, but he knew it meant a lot to both of them.

 

"So..." Riley began while shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "What are you doing out here alone?"

 

"Just needed to get some air." Lucas shrugged, knowing completely well he was lying.

 

"Oh." She paused. "Are you okay now?"

 

"Yeah, I'm fine." He nodded, pulling his lips into a thin line.

 

She looked at him for a moment, searching his face. What she was looking for, he didn't know, but a second later she dropped her gaze to the floor and sighed. "Maya said you were upset."

 

Lucas froze. Was he really that obvious?

 

"Are you?" Her eyes snapped back to his. "Upset, I mean."

 

"I-" he hesitated. What was he supposed to say? Should he lie? Or should he tell her the truth?

 

"Lucas, you know you can tell me anything, right?" she looked concerned.

 

"Yeah, I know that." His response was immediate. This at least he knew he was sure of. He could trust Riley with anything and she'd never tell a soul, not even Maya.

 

"Then, please. Tell me what's going on." She pleaded. "I know something's wrong. You've been acting weird since last week."

 

Great. She'd noticed his change in mood ever since Charlie had asked her to the dance. It was official. Hiding his emotions was hopeless when it came to her.

He wanted to answer her, to let out everything he's kept bottled in for a week. But where did he even start? How does he even express how he's felt without sounding like a jerk?

 

With a sigh, Lucas shifted his gaze to the ground. "I don't even know where to start." At least he's starting out truthful, he thought.

 

"You can start from the beginning."

 

He snuck a quick glance at her and saw the small smile on her lips. Chuckling, he replied, "Yeah, that'd be a good place to start, wouldn't it?"

 

All he got in response from her was a simple nod of the head, though her smile never left her face. He knew it was now or never.

 

Taking a deep breath he finally said the words that had been eating at him for a week. "I'm jealous."

 

"What?" Riley sounded confused. It only took one look her way to confirm it. Her eyebrows were furrowed, head titled slightly to the side. She was cute when she was confused, Lucas noted. But that was beside the point right now.

 

He continued. "I'm jealous, Riley. I'm jealous that you're here at the dance with Charlie and not me."

 

Her eyes widened. "You're jealous of  _Charlie_?"

 

"No." he shook his head. "I'm jealous that you're here with him. It's different."

 

"I don't get it." Riley shook her head this time. "If you didn't want me to go with Charlie, why didn't you ask me before he did?"

 

"I shouldn't have to ask you, Riley." He huffed. "You know how I feel about you. You know that I like you. Just like I know you like me."

 

He had to stop for a second to compose himself. He could feel his frustration building into anger, something he'd promised her months ago he was working on. He wasn't going to yell at her again like he'd done that day in class. He wasn't going to hurt her that way again.

 

"Why would you agree to go to the dance with Charlie if you know how we both feel?" he asked softly.

 

"Excuse me?" Riley looked shocked. "Lucas, weren't you the one who said we shouldn't move things too fast between us? That we should wait until we're both ready to be in a relationship before we take that next step?"

 

"Yeah, but –"

 

"No!" she snapped. "I like you, Lucas. You know I do, and you were right. We both weren't ready then. But just because we're taking things slow doesn't mean I'm going to sit around and wait for the inevitable to happen. You never made it a rule that we couldn't see other people."

 

"Well, maybe I want it to be a rule now." He stated matter of factly.

 

"Unbelievable!" Riley exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "So, what do you expect me to do from now on? Not go out with anybody and just wait for you forever?"

 

"That doesn't sound too bad actually." He mused.

 

"Lucas!"

 

"Okay, okay." He amended. "No, I don't want you to do that, alright?"

 

"Then, what do you want?" she sighed.

 

The answer was so simple that the realization of it shocked him.

 

"You, Riley." He stepped away from the wall, walking towards her, stopping when they were only inches away from each other.

 

She looked up at him, her eyes full of amazement. He grinned at the expression on her face. There were a lot of things Lucas Friar liked about Riley Matthews, but this – this had to be on the top of the list. He liked seeing her face light up with any kind of positive emotion whether it was happiness, amazement, or belief. She was always such a positive spirit, so innocent in her way of viewing the world that he couldn't help but be enveloped in her light.

 

That's why he had no doubt about the next words that came out of his mouth. "I want you. No one else."

 

"W-what are you trying to say?" she stammered, sounding breathless.

 

He kept his eyes on her as he reached forward and grabbed her hand. Her eyes shot down to where their hands joined between them. She stared for a moment, and then slowly allowed him to intertwine their fingers.

 

Smiling, Lucas answered her question. "I'm trying to say that I'm ready for us to move forward."

 

She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling. "You are?"

 

"Yeah, I am." Then he remembered something "I mean, I am if you are. I did say that this decision had to be made by the both of us one day. So, are you?"

 

Riley stood still, just looking at him. Lucas had no idea what was running through her head, but every second that passed that she didn't answer him, made him more nervous. What if she didn't want to move forward with him anymore? What if she liked Charlie more than him now? What if-

 

His heart stopped. No, he wasn't having a heart attack, though he wouldn't be surprised if what he was looking at right now caused one. In a second, his inner nervous breakdown had come to an end when he'd seen the big smile spread across Riley's face. He recognized that smile. It was the same one she gave him when he'd asked her out on her first date.

 

She started jumping on her feet, the giddiness running through her, and Lucas prepared himself for the loud 'yay' that was sure to come. Except that it didn't. Without any warning, Riley let go of his hand and flung herself at him. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into their first hug. Lucas was still for a moment before he responded by wrapping his own arms around her. He hadn't expected her to react this way, but he wasn't going to complain. Her hug was just as sweet as her kiss. And just as unexpected. It was becoming clear that Riley Matthews was one surprise after another.

 

"I'm guessing that's a yes." He laughed.

 

Pulling away she smiled up at him. "It's definitely a yes."

 

Lucas' couldn't stop the matching smile on his face even as he asked, "What about Charlie?"

 

"I like Charlie." Riley said simply.

 

Lucas' face fell and Riley laughed when she saw his expression. "But, I don't like him the same way I like you."

 

"So, that means..." Lucas trailed off with raised brows.

 

"That means," Riley started, "That I'll have to make it clear to him that he and I can only be friends."

 

"Let him down gently, okay? He seems like a nice guy." Lucas advised.

 

"Oh, now you're on his side?" Riley laughed.

 

"As long as he's not trying to be with you, yeah." Lucas winked.

 

Riley shook her head in amusement. "You are so lucky I like you."

 

"I can't argue with you there, City Girl." he smirked.

 

With one last laugh, Riley took hold of Lucas' hand and led him back towards the gym doors. "C'mon. Let's start moving forward."

 

And that's how Lucas spent the rest of the dance just like he'd wanted to from the beginning: with Riley.


	2. Girl Meets Yearbook (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The votes are in for the eighth grade yearbook superlatives. Who will win? More specifically, who will win Best Couple? Let's just say it's not who you think...

Riley Matthews loved the month of June. There were so many things to love about it: the start of summer, the end of another school year, and - most importantly - yearbooks came out. It was the last month of eighth grade before Riley would be heading off to high school as a freshman. Starting over was a scary thing, but she knew she'd be okay as long as she had her friends. They'd all be able to create new memories together in a new school. She couldn't wait to see what high school life would throw at them, but right now she was more focused on keeping a piece of the memories they'd already made in middle school. That's where the yearbook came in handy. In that book was a whole year's worth of memories that she'd treasure forever. Unfortunately, most of the kids in her class didn't see it that way. They only cared about the yearbook superlatives. You know, that section where you see who was voted 'Best Dressed', 'Nicest Smile', and so on. Riley thought those were fun, but she didn't care much for it. Or at least that's what she thought...

"Alright, guys." Cory Matthews called his class to attention. "The votes for this year's yearbook superlatives are in. Who's ready to hear them?"

The class voiced their eagerness immediately and Riley couldn't help but join in. She wondered if she and Maya had won anything. These awards may not be what she thought was important about the yearbook, but they represented what your classmates thought of you. As much as she hated to admit it, she did care what other people thought of her.

"Let's get started then!" Cory said with enthusiasm. He picked up a sheet of paper off his desk and began reading out the winners.

Farkle won Most Likely To Succeed. No surprise there, he was the smartest kid in the class.

Zay won Class Clown. Also not a surprise to anybody since he was always cracking jokes.

Maya won Most Artistic. When her name got announced as the winner, she was so surprised. Riley knew Maya never thought her paintings and drawings were any good. But, Riley always knew Maya was talented. So seeing that her classmates thought the same made her extremely proud of her best friend.

Lucas won Most Dateable, which he took in stride. Though his face did turn a bit red, Riley found it adorable. She'd never seen him blush before.

Riley ended up winning Friendliest. She was surprisingly relieved when her dad called her name as the winner of that category. She was happy that her classmates thought of her that way. All she'd ever tried to be is nice to everyone. It was good to know it showed.

The winners kept being announced one by one until there was only one left.

"The final category is Best Couple." Cory said.

The class erupted in a chorus of 'oh's' in anticipation for this one. Riley rolled her eyes in amusement. They made such a big deal over this category. She'll admit that it would be nice if her and Lucas won, but she doubted they were considered an actual couple yet. They'd only started dating last month, a week after the semi formal dance, and they hadn't talked about being boyfriend/girlfriend yet. They were just taking things slow, seeing where it goes. But, they definitely were exclusive. Lucas had made that point very clear since the dance. Riley giggled to herself at how insistent he was about that, like she could ever think of someone else than him to be with.

"The winners are..." Cory trailed off, pausing for dramatic effect, but also to read the paper in front of him.

Riley's thoughts started to drift off, thinking of how nice the yearbook was going to look with her and her friends all in it having won awards. She didn't see a point in listening to this final category's winner; it was probably just going to be won by Yogi and his girlfriend Darby. They were adorable. How can anybody not vote them?

"Maya and Lucas?" Cory said in confusion.

Her mind went blank. Well, she guessed that's how.

"WHAT?!" Maya, Riley, and Lucas yelled in unison.

"Oh, this is gonna be good." Zay smirked while rubbing his hands together. His comment was ignored for the time being.

"Me and Ranger Rick?!" Maya exclaimed.

"They're not even a couple!" Riley pointed out.

"Maybe they counted the votes wrong or something." Lucas suggested.

"No." Farkle piped up. "I'm on the Yearbook Committee. We count the votes twice."

Riley turned around to face Farkle, wide-eyed. "You knew about this?"

"I knew nothing, I swear!" Farkle put his hands up, proclaiming innocence in the whole situation. "I only make sure they count the votes twice. I don't actually read them."

"Is this some kind of joke?" Maya huffed. "Because if it is, it's not funny. The last person I'd ever be a couple with is Huckleberry."

"Hey!" Lucas said, clearly offended. "I'll have you know that I am a great person to be in a relationship with."

"Yeah, I know." Maya rolled her eyes. "I hear it all the time from your princess over there." She motioned to Riley with her hand, then stood up in front of the class with a sigh.

"Okay, what gives? Why did you guys vote me and him as Best Couple when we're not even a couple?"

Yogi tentatively raised his hand.

"Go ahead, Yoges." Maya said with a nod.

"We all thought as a group that you and Lucas would make a great couple, so we decided to vote you two for it." He shrugged. "We figured it'd convince you guys to give each other a chance."

"They're not a couple!" Riley was dumbfounded. "Me and Lucas are a couple!"

"Riley, sweetie, I think you need to calm down." Cory advised. "It's just a yearbook award. It's not serious."

"No, dad. You don't understand." Riley shook her head. "Those awards tell you what your peers think of you. So, that means that they think Maya and Lucas are better than _me_ and Lucas."

"Oh, c'mon. I'm sure they don't think that." He paused and addressed the class. "Do ya?"

"Yes." The class said in unison.

"You all are insane." Maya told them. "No one is better than Riley and Lucas, okay?"

"Except _you_ and Lucas." Said another student named Sarah.

"Why do you guys keep saying that?" Lucas asked in frustration.

"Because it's true." Dave, a usually quiet student, spoke up.

"Then explain it to us, Dave." Maya ordered with narrowed eyes.

"Well, no offense to Riley, but her being with Lucas is kinda boring." He admitted.

"Dave!" Riley gasped in shock.

"I'm sorry, Riley. But, Maya and Lucas are so much more interesting." Dave went on. "They're exciting and dangerous and their fights are really fun to watch."

The class murmured in approval.

"Yeah, Dave's right." Sarah agreed. "We're not saying Riley and Lucas are a bad couple. We just think if Riley were more dark and mysterious - like you Maya - we'd find her relationship with Lucas more appealing."

Riley couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her best friend and the first boy she's ever liked were the better couple? Was she in some alternate universe?

"You're all nuts." Maya shook her head in disbelief and turned her attention to her best friend. Riley was sitting in her seat frozen, not moving an inch. Maya approached her carefully.

"Honey?" she asked softly.

"Peaches." Riley looked at her with no emotion in her face.

"Please tell me you're not gonna make a big deal out of this." Maya pleaded. " _Please_."

Riley took a deep breath to compose herself. "I'm not gonna make a big deal about this. I am a mature young adult and I am better than that."

"That's good to hear, Riley." Lucas smiled.

"Yeah. You fight the power, sugar." Zay encouraged.

Maya held up a hand. "Wait for it."

"No. " Riley took another breath. "My name isn't Riley anymore. It's Morotia. Morotia Black."

"Oh no." Lucas hung his head with a groan.

"Here we go..." Maya trailed off as she sat back down in her seat with a sigh.

The class wanted dark and mysterious? She'd give them dark and mysterious. By the time she was done, no one would call Riley Matthews boring ever again.

 


	3. Girl Meets Yearbook (Part 2)

Black; the very darkest color owing to the absence of or complete absorption of light. Black was dangerous. Black was mysterious. Black was now her last name. They wanted her this way, so that's who she would be.

* * *

 

It was the next morning and students were filing in for their first period history class with Mr. Matthews. Maya Hart sat down at her usual desk, sighing. She looked to the desk beside her noting the seat was empty. It didn't have to take her long to know that her best friend not being there was already a bad sign for what was to come.

Maya knew Riley better than anybody, and one thing she knew was that Riley always took what others thought of her to heart. That was her biggest flaw. It was something she needed to work through. While Maya knew she had made progress since she'd admitted to her flaw last year, it was still there somewhere deep inside her. Yesterday's class couple intervention brought it back out.

She didn't like this at all. This wasn't how her best friend was supposed to be. _She_ was supposed to be the one with issues, not Riley. Riley was supposed to be the nice, kind hearted, optimistic one. She wasn't supposed to be doubting how amazing she was. It just didn't seem right.

"Hey, where's Riley?"

Maya turned around in her seat at the sound of Lucas' voice. "She didn't want to come to school with me."

His brows furrowed. "What? Why? You two always come to school together."

"Yeah, but she said that she needed more time to _prepare_." Maya said, using air quotes on the last word.

"Prepare?" He narrowed his eyes. "What does that even mean?"

"Honestly? I don't even wanna know." Maya sighed. "But, it's probably gonna be something drastic."

"Do you think she's okay?" he asked, his voice going softer.

Maya stared at Lucas for a moment, studying him. He avoided her gaze after the question had left his mouth. His hands were now folded together, fingers fidgeting this way and that. He was worried, Maya noted.

For most of the two years Maya had known Lucas Friar, she'd always given him a hard time. She'd call him names, poke fun at his Texas roots, but it was all in good fun. Most of the time, anyway. It was a game they've both come to enjoy to play. It's how their friendship worked. She would try to get to him, he'd be unaffected, and she'd get aggravated. He was basically the big brother she never wanted, getting under her skin like no one else.

But, even though he could be a pain sometimes, there had always been one thing she knew was sure about him. Lucas cared for her best friend. She noticed it for the first time the day of the class presidential election. The day where Lucas literally made Riley into a princess. That's all she'd wanted to be during that election, and he'd given it to her. It didn't take Maya long after that to realize Riley's feelings for Lucas were being reciprocated. Not just the whole 'liking' part, but the 'caring' part too. Staring at Lucas right now, it only reinforced her belief of his feelings.

"Hey." Maya placed her hand over his, stopping the movements of his fingers. "She's going to be fine. We'll make sure of it."

Lucas looked at her and nodded his head.

"Well, what do we have here?" a male voice asked. Both Maya and Lucas looked up to see Zay standing next to their desks. He had a smile on his face. "Decided to listen to your peers?"

"What?" Maya was confused.

"It's only been a day since the class recommended you two be a couple and you're already holding hands." He motioned down to Lucas' desk where Maya's hand was still placed over his.

She immediately pulled it away. "No, trust me. We are not listening to anyone's advice."

"Whatever you say." Zay teased. He shrugged and took his seat behind Lucas.

"We weren't doing anything, Zay." Lucas said, clearly frustrated with his friend.

"Oh, no." Zay shook his head. "Don't tell me that. Tell her." He pointed to the door of the classroom.

Lucas and Maya turned around to find Riley standing there. Or at least they thought it was Riley. She looked completely different. Her hair was shorter, almost cut in a bob, with bangs in the front. She was dressed in black from head to toe, a complete contrast from her usually colorful wardrobe. Her face was expressionless as she looked back at them.

"Riley, it isn't what it -" Lucas began but Riley cut him off.

"That is no longer my name." she replied in a monotone voice. "It's Morotia."

"Okay, _Morotia_." Maya said. "Whatever you thought you saw, you didn't see. Alright? You know Ranger Rick and I aren't like that."

"I don't know anything anymore." Riley deadpanned. "I only know darkness."

Lucas leaned over his desk and whispered, "Maya, what's happening?"

"She's making a big deal out of this." Maya looked at what used to be her best friend. "A _really_ big deal."

Riley walked over to her seat without sparing any of them a second glance and sat down. She leaned back in her chair, slouched her body down, and stared straight ahead. Without blinking. Without emotion.

Maya looked at her in disbelief. This wasn't her best friend, not anymore. This person next to her was a product of what people wanted her to be and Maya was not going to let her stay that way. Not if she could help it.

* * *

 

"We need to do something. I can't stand seeing her like that."

Maya, Lucas, Farkle, and Zay were all seated together in the lunchroom. Farkle had just voiced his worry about Riley, as he watched her across the room. She was seated at another table alone, looking at the wall with a blank face.

"Don't worry about it. I have a plan." Maya announced.

"Well, you better." Farkle answered. "It's no fun liking you both if one of you isn't you anymore."

"We're going to take care of it, Farkle." She reassured. "After tomorrow Riley will be Riley again."

"You want to let us in on this plan?" Lucas prompted.

"Yeah." Maya drawled. "Not right now."

"Why not?" Zay asked.

"Because I don't actually have a plan yet." Maya said with a nervous chuckle.

"Great." Lucas groaned. "We're never getting her back."

"Hey, I never have a plan either. And things always work out for me." Zay shrugged.

"They work out because _I'm_ the one who fixes the situation for you." Lucas pointed out.

"Oh yeah." Zay paused. "Thanks for that, man." He smiled and patted Lucas on the back.

"Unbelievable." Lucas murmured with a shake of his head.

"Actually, I think Zay might be on to something." Said Farkle thoughtfully.

"How so?" Maya questioned.

"Maybe we need to be the ones who fix Riley's situation for her."

"Like what? Try to tell her she doesn't need to change who she is because of some dumb yearbook award?" Maya scoffed. "She wouldn't listen to us."

"I know she won't." Farkle admitted. "Which is why instead of telling her we need to _show_ her."

"What do you have in mind?" Lucas inquired.

Farkle smiled. "Just meet me here bright and early tomorrow morning. You'll see."

* * *

 

Another day filled with darkness, Riley - ahem, Morotia - thought. She'd already spent one day as her new self, but it didn't seem to be having the desired affect. Sure, her classmates looked at her more strangely than usual. But, they'd also looked way too pleased when Maya had her hand over Lucas. Morotia wasn't going to worry about that, though. Maya wouldn't do that to her. Maya didn't like Lucas...did she?

Morotia shook her head. Of course not, she had to stop thinking that. Her classmates might not think Lucas and her are a good match, but Maya did. She wouldn't be saying that if she liked Lucas. Morotia had let her class get into her head enough to change herself, but it wasn't going to affect the way she thought of her friend. She just needed the class to see how great she and Lucas were together and it'd be over.

That was her final thought as she walked into her dad's classroom the next morning. When she did though, she stopped in her tracks. Her friends looked...different.

The first person she noticed was Maya. Mostly because she immediately recognized her clothes. Actually, getting a good look, Maya looked like her. Or rather the her she used to be. She looked like Riley.

Her eyes went to Lucas next. He was barely recognizable. His hair wasn't styled. His clothes were rumpled and had stains on them. It even looked as if he had smudges of food around his mouth. He didn't seem as put together as he usually did.

She glanced at Zay behind him. He was wearing a suit, sitting up straight with his hands folded together. He looked like the perfect exemplary student. Except Morotia knew he was anything but.

Finding Farkle next across from Lucas, Morotia blinked. Once, twice, three times. No, he still looked the same way as when she'd first seen him. Like the others, he didn't look like himself. He looked like a mixture of Zay and Lucas if she was being honest.

His head was covered in a beanie, causing his hair to be pulled back away from his eyes. He had on a soft looking V-neck sweater with a pair of baggy jeans. It was a far cry from his usual plaid shirts and turtlenecks.

Another thing Morotia noticed - no one else was in the room with them but her dad.

"What's going on?" Realizing she hadn't used her Morotia voice, she repeated herself in a monotone. "I mean, what's going on?"

"It seems as though your friends would like to talk to you Morotia." Her dad replied.

"About what?" she studied her fingernails, pretending to be unaffected.

"I don't know, but they've asked me to leave you all alone." Cory grabbed his briefcase from his desk, heading to the door. He stopped before leaving, giving them all a serious look. "Don't kill each other." Then he left.

"What do you want?" asked Morotia when her dad had closed the door.

"We want you back." Maya declared.

"I'm right here." Morotia motioned to herself with a hand.

"No, you're not." Lucas argued. "This isn't you, Riley."

"That's not my name." she reminded him.

"Yes, it is." Lucas insisted. "It's who you are. It's who _I know_ you are."

"Well, then maybe you don't really know me."

Lucas flinched at her choice of words and she instantly wanted to take them back. They sounded too similar to what she'd said that day in the cafeteria after she'd found out Lucas had been expelled from his old school. Those words had hurt him then and she knew they'd probably done the same now.

"Fine, if he doesn't know you, what about me?" Maya interjected. "I've been your best friend since kindergarten. You're going to tell me I don't know you, too?"

She couldn't answer that question. If she answered it the way she wanted to, she'd be lying. And Maya and her never lied to each other. Instead she decided to avoid it entirely.

"What do you all want?"

"We want you to answer a question." Farkle said.

"Go ahead." Riley prompted.

"Do you like us like this?" Farkle looked at her, expectantly.

She didn't know what he meant. "What exactly is _this_?"

"We look different, don't we?"

"Yeah." She drew the word out, not sure where this was going.

"I don't look like I'd be the most likely to succeed in class anymore, don't you think?" he titled his head to the side, eyes slightly narrowed, daring her to agree with him.

She couldn't answer because then Zay spoke. "And I don't look like a class clown, right?"

"I don't seem very dateable right now either." Lucas stated.

Well, that was to be debated. Because she still thought he looked kind of cute.

"And I..." Maya stood up from her chair and went up to Morotia. "I don't look very dangerous and mysterious anymore, do I?"

Morotia shook her head. "I don't get it."

"We all changed ourselves." Farkle shrugged.

"But, why?"

"Because we didn't want to be thought of as any of the things we were voted for in the yearbook." Zay said. "We didn't like the label the class put on us, so we changed."

"But, you guys shouldn't have to change over what they think. You're all great the way you are." Morotia argued. "The things you were voted for, that's one of the many reasons I like each of you."

"Really?" Maya narrowed her eyes. "Then, why did you change yourself because of what the class thought of you when who you are is what we like about you the most?"

She was speechless. Did they just mind trick her into a lesson? Her dad would always do that. Maybe they needed a new teacher; they were already too good at this.

"I needed to change." Morotia protested. "You guys don't need to."

"Says who, Riley?" Lucas jumped from his seat and walked over. "The class? Why does their opinion even matter?"

"Because," She huffed in frustration. "If they don't think I'm good enough for you, then I need to show them I am."

"You don't need to show them anything." Lucas glanced at Maya for a second, conveying some sort of message, and she stepped back. He was standing right in front of her now.

"You _are_ good enough for me, okay?" His eyes didn't leave hers and she couldn't look away. "If you weren't I wouldn't want to be with you as bad as I do. If they were right, I'd be with Maya. But, they're wrong. I don't need you to be dark and mysterious. I need you to be Riley."

"They don't think we're a good together." She said softly, looking down at her shoes.

He put a finger under her chin, lifting her face up to meet his once more. " _I_ think we're good together. Doesn't that count for something?"

"Honey, you need to let this go." Maya said from beside Lucas. "What other people think of you or your relationship doesn't matter. It only matters what _you_ think."

"Yeah, sugar. Don't let them label you. The only label you should let yourself have is your name." Zay added on.

They all stared at him in shock.

"What?" he demanded.

"That actually sounded..." Lucas trailed off, searching for the word. "Smart."

"Your lack of faith in my intelligence wounds me." He put a hand to his chest in mock offense.

"Hey, you're the one who came in here the first day singing about D's and F's." Lucas reminded him.

"Sadly, I still know that song." Zay sighed.

"Same here, buddy." Maya nodded.

"Okay, despite Zay's unfortunate grade point average, he is right." Farkle got up and joined his three friends in front of the room. "Don't let anyone label your relationship with Lucas as boring. I think you two are great."

"Really?" Morotia asked hopefully.

"Yeah." Farkle smiled.

"I do, too." Zay agreed, walking up to them. He put a hand on Lucas' shoulder. "Lucas told me that coming here changed him. I didn't really get it until Mr. Matthews taught us about the secret of life. People do change people. But, in Lucas' case it wasn't _people_ who changed him. It was just you, and that right there doesn't make a relationship boring in my book."

Morotia blushed.

"You see?" Maya said. "You and Huckleberry don't need to worry about what anyone thinks of the two of you. None of us think you aren't right for each other, so why should anyone else's opinion matter?"

She knew they had a point and it made her mad. Not because she didn't agree with what they were saying, because she did. She was mad because she'd let her insecurity get the best of her. She'd let other people's opinions change who she really is. Hadn't she always been taught to be herself?

When she hadn't said anything to Maya's question, Lucas cleared his throat. "So, do you understand what we're getting at? Or are you going to stay Morotia forever?"

"I don't know." She started with her gaze on the floor, but then looked up at him with a small smile. "What if I was Princess Dancing Sunshine?"

Lucas chuckled, obviously remembering the time she'd asked him if he'd call her that. "What if I was Mad Dog?"

"We wouldn't be boring anymore." Morotia - now Riley again - answered.

"Then I guess it's a good thing we don't mind 'boring', huh?" he winked.

"Yeah, I guess it is." She smiled.

"Ugh, you guys are nauseating." Maya grimaced, but Riley could tell her friend wasn't being serious.

"No." Riley stated, looking at Lucas. "I think we're pretty great."

A proud smile lit up Lucas' face. "Way to go, City Girl."

 


	4. Girl Meets Graduation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for new beginnings. With graduation, the gang will be heading off to high school. Things will change, especially when Lucas is faced with the toughest decision of this life.

 

Change. It happens all the time. People change, feelings change...and places could change, too. Riley Matthews was starting to realize that even though she didn't like it, change was inevitable. Especially when things seem to be going really good in your life.

"I don't know what to do."

Riley looked up from  her lap at the sound of Lucas' voice. Along with Farkle and Maya, they were both sitting at a table at Topanga's bakery. They'd decided to go there directly after school when Lucas told them earlier in the day that he had to tell them something. After a few minutes of tense silence, Lucas finally let them know what was going on. Turns out that since Lucas' had been so good the last two years in John Quincy Adams Middle School, his parents were giving him the option to move back to Texas. He'd be living with his grandfather - who had already accepted the idea - while he finished attending school. But, it was all up to Lucas whether he took his parents up on the offer or not.

"Seems like you're in a bit of a problem, Ranger Rick." Maya joked, obviously trying lighten the seriousness of the situation.

"Yeah, Lucas. I don't know what to tell you." Farkle said, shaking his head.

"Do you guys think I should go back?" Lucas looked back and forth between Farkle at his side and Riley and Maya sitting on the opposite side of the table. His brows were furrowed, the confusion clear on his face from his indecision.

"Well, it is where you grew up." Maya pointed out.

"And you do have friends there." Farkle added. "It's not like you'd have to start all over."

"Yeah, I know that. But, it'd still feel like I am." Lucas argued. "If I go back, I'd be doing the same thing as when I left Texas. I'd be leaving my friends behind and my home."

None of them could argue with that. They were all his friends and he'd already told them once that New York was his home. Riley knew he would never take that back.

"Riley?"

Her heart slammed against her chest as Lucas singled her out.

"Yeah?" she asked hesitantly.

"You haven't said a word since we got here."

She didn't think he would notice, but she shouldn't be surprised he did. Riley was always the most talkative of the bunch. Her being so quiet was rare and Lucas knew that.

"I'm just not sure what to say, that's all." Riley shrugged.

"So, you don't have any opinion on what I should do?"

She hesitated. What she really wanted to do was get up and demand that he stay. She didn't want to have to go to school and not see him there, knowing she never would again. She didn't want to not be able to talk to him face to face anymore. She just didn't want him gone from her life. But, she couldn't say any of those things because this decision wasn't about what she wanted. It was about him.

Riley took a deep breath before speaking. "I think you should do whatever you want, Lucas."

"That's not really what I wanted to hear." He chuckled.

She sent him a sad smile. "I know, but it's the only answer I've got. You need to make this decision on your own. You need to do what's best for you."

Lucas nodded. "Yeah, you're right." Looking around at the table, his lips turned up in a small smile. "Guess I got a lot to think about, huh?"

The group nodded in agreement and all Riley could do was hope that Lucas would make the right choice for himself. Even if that choice ended up breaking her heart.

* * *

 

It was the end of the next school day. The halls were silent as Lucas made his way to classroom number eighteen. He knew Mr. Matthews would still be there getting some extra work in before he headed home for the day.

Lucas knocked on the classroom door as soon as he reached it. When he heard the brief "Come in." from the other side, he opened the door and stepped inside.

Mr. Matthews looked up from the papers on his desk, his eyebrows raised at the sight of Lucas. "Mr. Friar. Didn't expect to see you in here again today."

"Didn't really expect to be here either, sir."

Truer words had never been spoken. Lucas was desperate. He'd gone over the situation hundreds of times in his head and he still had no idea what to do. His friends were no help in making a decision. He didn't really blame them, though. Riley was right when she said that he had to make this one on his own. But, he was still undecided and needed someone who wouldn't be affected by any decision he made. Which was why he came to Mr. Matthews. Someone who always seemed to know the right thing to say when his students were in need of some advice.

"Can I help you with something?" Mr. Matthews asked.

"Yeah, I was wondering if I could talk to you."

"Is it about school work? Because I can't really help you there. The final grades are already in for tomorrow's graduation."

"No." Lucas shook his head. "It's not about school. I need some advice."

"Ah." Mr. Matthews said as realization set in. "I'm assuming this is about that offer your parents gave you to go back to Texas?"

"How did you...?" Lucas trailed off before he understood. "Riley told you."

"Actually she told her mother." Mr. Matthews corrected. "But, then her mother told me. We don't keep secrets from each other when it comes to our daughter."

"Right, of course." Lucas agreed.

"So, what kind of advice do you want me to give you?"

He thought it was obvious, but if he had to spell it out for him he would.

"I want to know what you think I should do. Should I go back to Texas or stay here?"

Mr. Matthews laughed. "You really think my opinion matters on this, Mr. Friar?"

Lucas was taken aback by the question. "I've always valued your opinion, sir. It's one of the reasons I came to you for help because I don't know what to do."

"I know that you do, Mr. Friar, and I appreciate it. But, that's not what I meant."

"What did you mean, then?" Lucas asked in confusion.

"I meant that my opinion won't matter in the end when the decision is yours to make alone. Not mine."

Lucas had to stop himself from smiling a little at his words. It reminded him so much of what Riley had said to him the day before.

"I get that it's my decision and I promise to make it myself. But, isn't there any advice you can give me on this to clear my head? I mean, has something like this ever happened to you?"

Mr. Matthews thought for a moment before answering. "Not to me, but it did happen to my wife."

"Can you tell me what happened?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah, take a seat." Mr. Matthews motioned towards a desk in the room before getting up from his chair.

Lucas sat down at the desk and then looked back at his teacher expectantly.

Leaning against his own desk, with his arms crossed, Mr. Matthews began the story.

"When Mrs. Matthews and I were in high school and we were about to graduate, she got a college acceptance letter from Yale University. It was her dream school, where she's always wanted to go. But, she wasn't as happy as she should've been when she got that letter."

"Why not?" Lucas couldn't imagine why anyone wouldn't be happy about getting accepted into a school like that.

"Because if she decided to go to Yale, it'd mean having to leave me behind."

"Oh." Lucas didn't know why, but as soon as those words left Mr. Matthews' mouth Riley popped into his head. Shaking her image away, he asked, "So, what did she do? I mean, it obviously worked out between the two of you since you're married, but did she go?"

"No, she ended up going to college with me somewhere else." Mr. Matthews said with a wistful smile.

"So, she gave up going to Yale for you?"

Mr. Matthews shook his head. "It wasn't for me, Mr. Friar. Even though she knew that her going to Yale would hurt me, she still made the decision for herself. She knew that she wouldn't be able to handle being away from me. We had already been through it once and couldn't do it."

"The decision was easy for her then." Lucas stated.

"Not quite." Mr. Matthews chuckled. "Like you, she also sought out help from her teacher."

"And was he any help?"

"Yeah, he was. In fact, he's the one that told her what she needed to hear to make the right choice." he mused.

Lucas jumped on this information, hoping it could be of some use to him. "Do you know what he told her?"

With a nod, Mr. Matthews passed on the same advice given to his wife all those years ago. "Lucas, unless you have a really good reason not to, go to Texas."

Lucas smiled in amusement. "I doubt he called her Lucas."

"Yeah, I might have changed names and places to fit your situation." Mr. Matthews chuckled. "Do you think that advice will help you, Mr. Friar?"

He took a moment to mull that question over. Texas wasn't Yale University, but like Mrs. Matthews he'd also be leaving someone behind if he decided to leave. Would he be able to handle it, unlike she did? 

He thought back to all the time he'd already spent in New York. He thought about the people he'd met, the friends he'd made, and finally his thoughts landed on one person in particular. The person who'd welcomed him from day one. The first friendly face he saw in the city. A face that was always on the forefront of his mind ever since. And suddenly, his decision wasn't all that hard.

"You know what? I think it just did."

* * *

 

Family and friends were scattered everywhere as the eighth grade graduation had come to an end. Students stood in their blue caps and gowns, hugging their relatives and taking photos. Riley was one of them, currently being photographed with her parents by her Uncle Shawn. She knew she should be happy. Graduating was a big milestone in her life. Next up was high school, then she'd be off to college. But, she couldn't be happy knowing that Lucas possibly wouldn't be by her side in the near future.

As Riley's parents stepped away to go look at the photo Uncle Shawn had taken, there was a tap on her shoulder. Turning around she came face to face with Lucas.

"Hey." he smiled.

"Hey, back." she returned his smile, but she knew it wouldn't reach her eyes like it normally did when he was around.

"Do you think we could talk? Alone?" his eyes darted to her family behind her in question.

"Uh..." Riley looked back towards her family, turning back around when she saw her dad giving her a thumbs up. "Yeah, sure."

They ended up in the school library, sitting in the exact same table where she had found out that Lucas wanted to be a vet last year.

"What do you want to talk about?" Riley asked as soon as they were seated. Her eyes were glued to her folded hands, the palms sweaty from the nervousness she was feeling.

"I wanted you to be the first to know about my decision on Texas."

She figured that's what he wanted to discuss. Her stomach tumbled at what he was about to say to her. She was prepared for her heart to break. It would hurt, but she'd have to somehow find the strength to say goodbye to him.

"Okay." Riley snuck a peek at him and nodded her head slightly, signaling for him to go on.

"I went to ask your dad for advice yesterday." Lucas admitted.

Her head shot up at the confession. "You did?"

"Yeah, I badly needed advice and he was willing to give me some."

Putting aside her surprise at Lucas having talked to her father, Riley cleared her throat. "And what advice was that?"

"He said that I should go to Texas unless I have a really good reason not to."

Riley's heart sank. This was it. This was the goodbye she'd been dreading.

Trying her best to hide the disappointment in her voice, Riley gave him a small smile, "Well, there's no good reason, right?"

"Actually, there is." Lucas trailed off and before Riley could say something, he had grabbed one of her wrists, effectively pulling her folded hands apart. Sliding his hand down, he threaded his fingers though hers.

Riley looked down at their joined hands, stunned. "What...?"

"It's you, Riley." When her wide eyes met his, he was smiling. "You're the really good reason."

"What?" That seemed to be the only word Riley could muster up. She was in shock.

"Want me to explain?" he asked in amusement.

All she could do was nod.

Lucas briefly looked at their joined hands, his thumb stroking her skin for a second too long, before he spoke. "I can't lie to you and say going back to Texas isn't tempting. You know how much I wanted to go back last year."

She nodded, remembering when she and Maya had overheard Lucas' conversation with his father in the school hallway. He'd said he'd never wanted to come to New York.

"Things change, though." Lucas continued. "Back then, I thought if I left I wouldn't miss anything about this place. But yesterday when I really sat down and thought about all the things I'd have to leave behind here, I realized that I would miss something. Or rather, someone."

He paused to send her a grin and Riley couldn't stop the blush from creeping on her cheeks.

"No matter how many times I thought about how good it would be to be back in Texas, my mind always came back to how bad it would be there without you. Now that you're in my life, I can't imagine you being out of it."

Riley sucked in a breath. She'd heard words like this before from Maya. But those had a different meaning. This boy wasn't her best friend and she knew the meaning behind his words weren't of the friend type.

"So..." Riley gulped. "So, does this mean you're staying?" She looked at him hopefully.

"That's exactly what it means, City Girl." He smiled and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

The happiness in Riley was so strong in that instant that she couldn't stop herself. She flung her body forward and wrapped her arms around Lucas in a hug. Hugging her in return, she heard his laughter against her ear, filling her with warmth. After a few seconds she started to pull away, but Lucas didn't let her get too far before he held on to her arms. Their faces were only inches apart, and Riley was suddenly transported back in time to a subway car - the last time she'd been this close to him.

"Riley?" he whispered and his gaze went to her lips before returning to her face.

"Lucas?" she whispered back, her heart frantically beating against her chest.

"I think it's time for my moment." He grinned.

The only response Riley gave was a smile before his lips connected with hers.

* * *

 

Cory Matthews stood with his wife at the door of the school library, having just watched the entire scene unfold. He hadn't meant to, honest. But, he was still a father and when it came to boys he had to keep an eye on things.

"Well, would you look at that?" Cory turned at the sound of the voice, finding Maya Hart standing next to him with a smile. "Seems as though they aren't friends anymore, Matthews."

"Yeah, seems that way." Cory nodded in agreement.

"You still scared?" Maya asked, referring to the time last year when Cory had told her to watch Riley and Lucas to keep him updated.

"No." Cory grinned. "I knew how the story would go remember?"

"Oh, so all my updates on those two were for nothing?" she laughed.

"Of course not. I needed to make sure I was right."

"Clever." Maya smirked. "So, how exactly did you know their story would end this way?"

"Because," Cory looked over at his wife of over fifteen years, a smile identical to his on her face. "The same thing happened with us."

"They're the new you, then?" Maya asked, her brows furrowed.

"No, they're not us." Topanga shook her head. "We're us and they're them. Our story has already been told, but theirs? It's just beginning."

 


	5. Girl Meets Rileytown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Riley begins to act differently, her friends suspect something is wrong. Once they figure it out, they decide to hide it from Lucas because they're afraid of how he'll react to it. But, what happens when he does find out?

 

Something was wrong with Riley.

They'd all started realizing it a few days ago. Riley was acting unlike herself. She was more quiet, more distant. Sometimes she wouldn't even be paying attention when any of her friends would talk to her. It was like her mind was off somewhere else. It didn't take them long to start worrying about what was going on with her. Even Zay, who hadn't known Riley for too long, had immediately noticed something about her was off. She didn't seem like Riley anymore. She was no longer their ray of sunshine. They didn't know what had happened to her, but they all decided as a group to figure it out.

Which was why Maya finally decided to corner her best friend in the school cafeteria to get to the bottom of this situation. They were both seated at a lunch table alone while the boys were at another. Maya suggested they give her and Riley the privacy since she knew Riley might feel more comfortable talking without so many people around.

"So, what'd you think about history class today?" Maya had decided to start off with a harmless question. She was going to work her way up to the real problem at hand eventually without scaring her friend off.

Riley took a small sip of her chocolate milk before shrugging her shoulders. "Don't know. Same as every other class, I guess."

Maya couldn't help but notice that Riley's voice was emotionless. She wasn't even looking at her in the eyes when they'd speak these days. Maybe working her way up to the issue wasn't going to work as well as she'd thought. She might have to just get to the point.

Maya let out an exasperated sigh. "Okay, that's it. I can't do this anymore."

"Do what?" Riley asked with a monotone voice while she poked around at the food on her lunch tray.

"This." Maya motioned towards Riley with her hand. "What's going on with you, Riles?"

"I'm not sure I know what you mean." Her voice was still cold but at least her face had showed some emotion as her eyebrows scrunched up.

"Yes, you do." Maya insisted. "You're not acting like yourself."

Riley didn't reply. She just kept silently moving her food around on her plate.

This wasn't good, Maya thought. Riley would never stay this silent. No matter what she'd always be the one to talk.

"Riley, did," Maya paused, her voice going softer, "Did something happen?"

Riley inhaled a sharp breath. It was quick, but Maya noticed it.

"No." Riley answered.

She was lying. Maya knew it.

"Honey, you can tell me anything." Maya put a hand on her best friend's shoulder. "You know that, right?"

Everything happened so suddenly, it was like Maya's touch had flipped a switch in Riley. She forcefully shrugged her hand away and faced her friend head on.

"I said nothing happened, okay?!" she exclaimed.

The cafeteria went silent at Riley's outburst. All Maya could do was shrink away from her in shock. She'd never seen Riley like this. The look on her face was foreign, it didn't belong there. Maya knew that better than anyone because only she ever made that look. It was anger. But not the cute kind that Riley would display on occasion which would disappear in a few minutes with a laugh. No, this anger was different. It was worse because it was mixed in with something else. Something that Maya had dealt with a lot during the past few years that she could easily see. It was pain.

Riley Matthews - a literal ray of sunshine - was in pain.

Seeming to notice everyone's attention was now on her, Riley became panicked. She pushed up from her seat and grabbed her food tray.

"I have to go." She said quickly and started to walk away.

Maya jumped up from her seat and caught up with her, grabbing her arm. "Riley, wait -"

Riley turned around. "Leave me alone!"

Without warning, Riley shoved Maya away using the tray in between them. Maya stumbled back as the tray tipped up and collided with her chest, it's contents spilling all over her and the floor. The sound of Maya's feet screeching and the tray clattering to the ground was almost deafening. But, Maya didn't even process the sounds. How could she when she couldn't even believe what had just happened? Her best friend in the whole world had just pushed her away - figuratively and physically.

"Oh my gosh." Riley's eyes were wide as the looked over the mess she'd made. She glanced at Maya, her eyes suspiciously shining with unshed tears. "I - I didn't mean..."

Maya couldn't move. She didn't know what to do, how to react, or even what to say. This had never happened between them before, where one of them just lashed out at the other for no reason.

"Riley, are you okay?" Both girl's heads turned at the new voice. Lucas was now standing next to Maya, a worried look graced his features as he shifted his gaze from Maya to Riley and back again.

Riley stared at him for a moment, then shook her head as she looked back at Maya. "I - I'm sorry."

And with that, Riley fled from the cafeteria leaving all her friends behind.

* * *

 

Lucas' foot was tapping the bakery floor impatiently as he waited for his friends to show up. Farkle and Zay had texted him an hour before asking him to meet them at _Topanga's_. They said they had something to tell him about Riley. He figured it had to be big. Why else would they ask to meet him in person when they could just tell him on the phone?

Whatever it was, he was dying to find out. He needed to know what was wrong with Riley. These past few days had felt like Yearbook week all over again. Except Riley still looked like herself, but she wasn't really herself anymore. At least last time she was playing a part. This time, he wasn't sure what was going on and it scared him. It scared him to think that his ray of sunshine could be gone for good and that there was nothing he could do about it. That's why he needed to know what was going on, so he could fix it. 

The sound of the bakery's door opening caused Lucas to look up. In strolled Farkle and Zay...each of them holding a rope in their hands.

"What's with the ropes?" Lucas asked in confusion as they approached him.

"Uh, see we were gonna, um," Farkle's eyes shifted back and forth between Lucas and Zay, trying to explain.

"They're for you." Zay got right to the point.

Lucas' eyebrows flew up. "For me?"

Farkle nodded. "Yeah, Zay said we need it as a precaution."

"A precaution?"

"Look, man." Zay sighed. "I've known you longer than anybody here. And I know that once we tell you what we came here to tell you, you're gonna get riled up."

"You mean about Riley? Is it really that bad?" Lucas' worry skyrocketed and he began to stand up. If this was as bad as these two were making it sound, he had to go to her. He had to see she was okay.

He didn't make it that far, though. Zay rushed over to him, pushing him back onto the lounge chair and effectively putting the first rope around his upper body.

"You're kidding me, right?" Lucas stared down at the rope. "Is this really necessary?"

"Oh, trust me. It is." Zay motioned for Farkle to come forward. "Rope him up, Genius."

As Farkle started to secure his rope around Lucas and the chair he was sitting on, Lucas tried to tug himself free.

"Don't even try. We were both raised the same way, remember? I can tie a rope just as well as you can." Zay reminded him.

With a defeated sigh, Lucas stopped resisting. "Fine. Just tell me what's wrong with Riley so you can untie me."

"I'll untie you once I know you won't Hulk out on us." Zay said as Farkle walked back towards his side.

"I've changed, Zay. You know that." Lucas pointed out.

"Yeah, I know." Zay agreed. "But I also know that when it comes to the people you care about getting hurt, you don't think straight. You just react."

"Riley's hurt?" Out of everything Zay had said that's the only thing that mattered to him.

"See? You're already proving my point." Zay smiled.

"Just tell me what happened, Zay. Please." Lucas pleaded.

"Okay." Zay looked at Farkle. "Would you like to tell him?"

"Uh..." Farkle trailed off in hesitation. It only took him to see the look on Lucas' face to make his decision. "Sure."

Clearing his throat, Farkle dropped the truth bomb. "Riley's being bullied."

It was like a cold bucket of water had been dropped on Lucas' head when he processed the words coming out of Farkle's mouth.

"What?" he asked in disbelief. "How do you know?"

"Well," Farkle gave Zay a questioning look, wondering if he should continue. Zay nodded so he went on. "I kinda stole Riley's phone and saw these messages -"

"What messages?" Lucas didn't even notice, but his hands were subconsciously turning into fists, his knuckles going white.

Zay and Farkle definitely had taken notice, though. Zay started walking closer to him slowly as Farkle continued with his explanation.

"Apparently, there's this video that Riley filmed of herself. I'm guessing it's pretty embarrassing since that's what all the messages are about. They were all making fun of her and the video."

Lucas gritted his teeth. He could feel his temper rising. "Who's sending the messages?"

"I don't know - " Farkle started, but he didn't get to finish that thought.

"How could you not know?!" Lucas burst out as he sprung up, the chair still tied to his body by the ropes. "Do you even know if she's okay?!"

"Lucas, man, calm down." Zay urged him to sit back down.

Lucas ignored his friend. "Get me out of these ropes right now! I want to go see Riley."

"No can do." Zay shook his head.

"Excuse me?" Lucas ground out, facing him.

"We're not letting you leave here to see her unless you cool down." Zay informed him.

Lucas couldn't believe what he was hearing. Riley was in need and all they cared about was whether or not he was cooled down? No way was he standing for this. He had to get to Riley and no one was going to stop him.

"I hate to break it to you, Zay." Lucas began walking backwards  towards a table in the middle of the room. "But, that's not gonna happen."

Zay laughed. "We got you tied up, man. Where are you gonna go?"

Lucas didn't have to give him an answer. With a smirk, he slammed the back of the chair tied to him against the table causing them both to shatter in pieces. The ropes around his body loosened and he quickly shrugged them off.

"What the...?" Zay asked in astonishment.

"We both may know how to tie the same ropes, Zay. But, you always did forget the fact that you had to tighten them a second time so it won't come loose."

"Whoops." Zay laughed awkwardly.

Farkle was wide eyed. "You said he wouldn't get free!"

Wasting no time, Lucas starting running for the door. Zay caught up to him, holding him back.

"Go to Riley's!" Zay shouted at Farkle. "I'm gonna hold him off as long as I can! Go!"

Farkle ran out of the bakery, leaving Zay to deal with Lucas.

* * *

 

It wasn't that difficult for Lucas to get away from Zay. All he had to do was pretend he was calm for a few seconds causing Zay to back off. Then when his friend least expected it, he dodged past him and out the door.

Right now he was crouching outside of Riley's bedroom window. He knew the fastest way to get to her would be through there because it's how Maya always got in. It was also were he got out the first time he'd been in Riley's room and had to make a quick exit so Mr. Matthews wouldn't kill him. At this moment though he could care less if Riley's father found him in her room again. Finding out how she was doing was way more important than whatever could happen to him.

Opening the window and pushing aside the curtains, Lucas was met with a roadblock to his plan. Riley's dresser was right in front of the window, effectively stopping anyone who would try to come in.

"Riley?" Lucas called out.

She wasn't the one to answer him. "Get out of here, Ranger Rick."

Lucas rolled his eyes. Of course she'd be here. "Maya, let me in!"

"No way am I letting you near her right now." Maya said adamantly. "Just leave."

"No way am I leaving until I make sure she's okay." Lucas tossed back.

"Well, good luck finding a way in." she taunted.

Lucas chuckled. "You think this," He knocked his knuckles against the dresser in front of him, "Is gonna stop me? Think again, Short Stack."

"I will break you!" Maya growled.

Lucas had to laugh as he began to climb down from the fire escape and away from the window. Maya didn't know him at all if she thought he was going to give up seeing Riley that easily. He made his way to the front door of Riley's apartment and knocked. Auggie answered the door and with just a few choice words (and maybe a bribe or two) he'd been let in. Lucas wasted no time in heading straight for Riley's bedroom. When he got to the door, Farkle and Maya were standing right there.

Lucas let out an exasperated sigh, "Guys, let me in."

"Sorry, Lucas. But, we can't do that." Farkle said calmly, but Lucas could tell he was nervous. He couldn't really blame the kid. He did just see him break a table half an hour ago. Unfortunately, Lucas knew that Farkle's nerves would work to his advantage to get to Riley. He wasn't proud of doing what he was about to do, but it was the only way.

Taking a menacing step forward, Lucas got in his face. "Get out of my way, Farkle."

Farkle's eyes widened, his gaze shifting to Maya. Sending her a brief apologetic look, he stepped away from the door.

"Farkle!" Maya reprimanded.

"I'm sorry!" Farkle threw his hands up in defeat. "But, you didn't see what he did back at the bakery. I won't be ending up like that table, not today."

With a roll of her eyes, Maya faced Lucas. "I'm not scared of you, so I don't care what you say or do. I'm not letting you in there."

"Why not?" Lucas asked in frustration.

"Because the last time you were this angry, you hurt her. I'm not letting that happen again."

Her words were like a slap to the face. He knew what moment she was talking about. It was the week Zay had moved to New York and his past self had come out in the open. Lucas always knew he had anger issues, but he'd been able to keep it under wraps in New York for the most part. But that day in class, everything had gotten to be too much for him and he'd lashed out. He'd yelled at the last person he ever wanted to show his dark side to. He could still remember the look on her face, how she wasn't able to even keep her eyes on him anymore. No one had to tell him what he'd done to her that day, her face was saying it all for him. He'd allowed the darkness inside of him to taint her bright light.

Closing his eyes, Lucas let out a breath before staring Maya down. "I'm not going to hurt her again, Maya. I could never do that."

"How can you be so sure? I mean, from the looks of it you don't think when you're angry Lucas. I know you probably won't mean to hurt her, but you will."

Lucas shook his head. "You're wrong."

Maya crossed her arms over her chest. "Why's that?"

"Because I care about Riley too much to hurt her. I promised myself I wouldn't, so I won't. You're just gonna have to trust me on this."

Maya just looked at him, contemplating her decision. All he could do at that point was hope he'd said enough to get on the other side of that door.

* * *

 

Riley sat on her bed with her back facing the door. She would be sitting at her bay window like she always did in situations like this, but it was currently being occupied by furniture. Farkle and Maya had put it up to stop Lucas from getting in. Riley thought it was a dumb idea to keep him out like that, but she honestly didn't want to see him.

It wasn't that she was scared of the inevitable anger that he most likely going through right now at finding out what was happening. The problem was that she was embarrassed. It was easy to finally come clean with Maya and Farkle about the bullying. They hadn't really seen the video, but she'd more or less explained what it contained. Riley knew that she'd have a much harder time confessing all of this to Lucas. Yes, Lucas was her friend and she's always been able to talk to him but that's what made this so hard. Because in her heart, Lucas wasn't just a friend to her anymore and she didn't want him to know about the video. She didn't want to seem childish to him. There was already a whole school full of people thinking she wasn't right for him. She didn't want to give him anymore reasons to doubt his feelings for her.

The sound of her bedroom door being opened snapped Riley out of her thoughts. "Is he gone?"

"Did you want me to be?"

Her head swung around when she heard his voice. She didn't know what to do now. She didn't expect him to actually get past Maya and Farkle.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in surprise.

"Isn't it obvious?" Lucas shut the door behind him and walked towards her, stopping when he reached the edge of her bed, "I'm here to see if you're okay."

Riley nodded and looked down at her lap. "I guess you know what's going on, then."

"Yeah, but what I don't know is why you didn't think you could tell me."

"I just," Riley stopped, trying to come up with some good reason but it was no use, "I just couldn't, okay?"

"No, it's not okay Riley." Lucas made his way over to where Riley was sitting and sat down next to her. "You need to give me a better reason than that."

"Well, I don't have one." Riley snapped as she faced him.

Lucas pulled back, a little stunned from her tone. He composed himself quickly, though and continued talking. "If you ask me, this sounds like you didn't trust me enough to tell me."

"I do trust you, Lucas. You know that."

Lucas raised his eyebrows. "Do I? Because if I remember correctly, you were the one who said that people who care about you are supposed to trust you with stuff."

Riley avoided his gaze as her own words were thrown back at her. She had said that to him. But, this situation was different...right?

"I know you care about me, Riley. Just like I care about you because we're friends. You know I would've listened, so why didn't you tell me?"

There was no use in keeping it from him anymore. She didn't want him to know about this, but she wasn't willing to risk their friendship over it. No matter what, her friendship with Lucas was the most important thing to her.

"I was embarrassed." she confessed.

"Embarrassed of what?" Lucas questioned.

"Of the video. I didn't want you to know about it. It's embarrassing." she grumbled.

Lucas was quiet for a minute before he spoke. "I wanna see it."

"What? No!" Riley shook her head vigorously. "No way."

Lucas sighed. "Look, you think that the video is embarrassing, right?"

She nodded.

"And that I'm going to make fun of it or something?"

She nodded again.

"Well, how about you let me be the judge of that instead of assuming?"

Riley was hesitant. She knew he had a point. She shouldn't assume he'd make fun of it, but she still didn't want him to see it. Whoever had been blackmailing her with it surely had lots of not so nice things to say about it. So, how could anyone else like it?

"Please, Riley?" Lucas asked, giving her that puppy eyed look that made her go weak at the knees.

With a groan, she got up from the bed and headed over to her desk. Grabbing her phone, she walked back over to Lucas and handed it over to him. Sitting back down next to him, she averted her eyes as she heard the video begin playing.

Her voice filled the room, cheerful as always, announcing "The Rileytown Awards". A ceremony where she awarded herself daily for any good deeds she'd accomplished. That day she'd helped a student open their locker and then helped Auggie with his homework at night. She'd filmed the video before going to bed. The next morning it'd somehow gotten in the hands of the wrong person and they were threatening to post it online.

She heard Lucas chuckle as the video came to an end. Her heart sank at his reaction. Even he knew the video was silly.

"How can anybody not love this?"

Riley looked at him in shock. "What?"

"You heard me." he said. "How can anybody not love this?"

"You..." Riley couldn't believe it. "You love it?"

"Yeah, I do." Lucas smiled reassuringly.

"But, how? It's dorky and silly and -"

"And it's you." Lucas interrupted.

"What do you mean?" Riley asked in confusion.

"I mean, this video is all you Riley. It's who you are. You're dorky and silly and cheery all the time. You're a ray of sunshine."

Riley felt herself blush at his words.

"What I'm getting at here is that you shouldn't feel embarrassed about this video. You shouldn't be embarrassed about who you are because there's people out there who love who you are. Don't listen to what one person who doesn't even show their face says about you. You should only listen to the people who care about you. After all, they have your best interest at heart."

Lucas always did have a way with words. It seemed to be inevitable that they leave an impact on her. This time was no different. His words left her breathless.

"Are you one of them?" she asked softly.

Lucas titled his head to the side. "One of who?"

"One of the people who love who I am."

"Of course. I've always loved who you are, Riley. That's not gonna change." Lucas placed his hand over hers and gave it a slight squeeze.

She stared down at their hands and smiled to herself. "Well, for the record," She squeezed his hand back before looking into his eyes. "I love who you are, too."

"I always figured you did." he smirked. "But it's good to hear, anyway."

Riley laughed for the first time in days. It felt good to do it again. It made her feel like herself instead of the closed up shell her nameless and faceless bully had made her to be.

"So, do you think you're gonna be okay?" the concern was clear in his voice.

"Yeah," she sent him a smile, "Thanks to you."

He returned her smile and his final words finished putting her back together. "You know I'd never not be there for you."

 


	6. Girl Meets Legacy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riley Matthews has been hiding a big truth from Lucas Friar for months. But, like her father once said, "The truth always has a way of coming out." When Lucas learns the truth, what will he do? I bet we're all wondering what's gonna happen next...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [A/N: The following is just a couple quotes that inspired me while writing this.]
> 
> "History shows that bad things happen when you don't know who you are." - Cory Matthews (1x01 Girl Meets World)
> 
> "If you let someone say who you are, then you really won't be who you are. And you certainly won't end up being who you were meant to be." - Lucas Friar (2x12 - Girl Meets Yearbook)
> 
> "In my opinion, it's about facing life; which runs harder than any bull. You gotta face your fears. You ride them or they ride you." - Pappy Joe (2x20 - Girl Meets Texas Part 1)

 

 

Riley sat at her bay window, her head in her hands, wondering how her world had gotten so complicated over the last few months. Everything used to be so simple and she thought she'd had her life figured out. She knew who her best friends were and she knew who...she knew who he would be to her someday. But, now? Now she had no clue who they would be to each other anymore.

The worst part was that she'd been lying to him all this time, something that she hated doing. Lying was wrong. Especially when you lied to someone who you cared so much about. She knew that and yet she still did it. And she was still doing it even though Maya had given her a reason to stop.

It was this past New Years when Maya realized that she never had feelings for Lucas. All it took was one conversation with Uncle Boing to put her feelings into perspective. Her feelings for Josh and her feelings for Lucas were completely different. She liked Josh as a potential boyfriend and she liked Lucas as a brother. That's why she'd teased him all this time because, yeah, it was fun to watch him squirm. The only reason Maya could never admit to caring about him was because she didn't allow herself to easily care about people. Because she was scared if she did, they'd leave her just like her father did. She always thought it was better to keep people at arms length to protect herself. Farkle and Riley already proved to her they weren't leavers. But, it'd taken years for her to trust them with her heart. She'd only known Lucas for two years, and caring about him already was scary.

Riley remembered Maya confessing all of that and more to her in a rush that night. She'd assured Riley that she felt nothing romantic for Ranger Rick and that it was a misunderstanding. That's when Riley finally found the courage to ask her what had happened between her and Lucas in Texas. Maya had never given her specifics and Riley had never asked or even wanted to know. But, now she did. She felt like she _had_ to know.

Maya had hesitated for a moment before answering. "We almost kissed."

It was like a bucket of cold water had been dropped over her head. Of course she believed Maya if she said she didn't have feelings for Lucas. But, what about him? They'd almost kissed so...did he have feelings for Maya? Riley inwardly groaned. Everything was a mess, she was still confused, and what had happened at the graduation today didn't help at all.

After Maya had told Riley everything on New Years, Riley decided to come clean to her about her feelings too. Maya had been shocked and a little hurt that Riley would've lied to her all this time, but she understood why she'd done it. She appreciated that Riley just wanted her to be happy while on the other hand, hated that Riley had to suffer over it. That's when she'd decided to fix this mess. She'd pushed Riley and Lucas together once and she could do it again. The problem was that Riley had no idea it was coming.

It happened while Riley was giving her salutatorian speech at the beginning of their graduation ceremony. Maya and Lucas were sat in the row right behind the podium, causing Riley to be able to hear their conversation. All the students were seated in alphabetical order according to their last names, so Maya and Lucas were one seat apart with Charlie in the middle.

"Huckleberry, I need to tell you something." Maya hissed.

"Right now?" Lucas whispered back.

"Yeah, can't you see your best friend is making a speech?" Charlie butt in.

Maya dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "No one's talking to you, cheese soufflé."

Lucas grinned. He wasn't a big fan of Charlie, but he was trying to be the bigger person and not show it for Riley's sake since she seemed to like him now. So, he appreciated the fact that Maya was able to torture Charlie for him.

"Why do you even call me that?" Charlie asked in confusion.

Ignoring his question, Lucas moved his attention to Maya, "Charlie's right. Why don't you just wait until after this is over to tell me whatever it is you need to tell me?"

Maya shook her head, "This can't wait. It's too important."

"Fine," Lucas sighed, "What is it?"

"Riley..."

Lucas didn't hear the rest of the sentence because the crowd in the auditorium suddenly started applauding. Riley's speech was over and she was walking back to her seat in the row behind them.

"What?" Lucas' voice rose a little as he leaned over Charlie so he could try to hear what Maya was telling him.

He could see Maya's lips moving, but couldn't make out the words over the applause.

"What?!" He tried again, this time a little louder.

Maya stood up from her seat and got in his face. "RILEY STILL LIKES YOU!" 

A hush fell over the room as her words echoed off the walls. In the middle of sitting down, Riley froze. She stared at her best friend with wide eyes. Maya just stared back, her mouth opening and closing, not knowing what to say.  That's when Lucas and Charlie both turned around at the same time to face her. Riley's eyes immediately locked with Lucas'. She could see a million emotions across his face - hurt, confusion, and shock. Then there was Charlie who just looked...defeated.

Riley could feel all eyes on her and she couldn't take it. She ran out of the auditorium. Maya had followed her into the bathroom, where they ended up having one of their biggest arguments yet. In the end, Riley couldn't really be mad at her best friend. Not when Maya was just doing the same thing Riley had done back in Texas. She was trying to make her happy. The only difference is that she knew Maya wasn't going to suffer in silence over it. Not like she had.

So, that was it. That's how she ended up alone at her bay window dreading the conversation that was undoubtedly going to happen before the day was over.

A knock on her window suddenly caused her to lift her face out of her hands. She turned her head and her heart stopped. It was him.

With shaking hands, she opened the window for him. As he climbed inside, she stood up and backed away to stand by her bedside. He kept a safe distance from her once he made it in her room, closing the window behind him.

They just stared at one another for a moment before Riley spoke. "Hi."

"Hey," He immediately responded.

Her heart warmed a little at the exchange. It had been a while since they'd done this. Even when Maya came to the realization she didn't like him, Riley still kept telling Lucas she liked him as a brother. She kept pushing him away because she was scared. She knew that if she gave in to her feelings they'd inevitably end up dating and then what? They'd break up? They'd end up hating each other? She didn't want that. She didn't want to end up like her Uncle Shawn and Angela. She didn't want to be like her Uncle Eric's friends Jack and Rachel. What she wanted was to always have Lucas around, to always be able to talk to him. The only way she could think of making that happen was to be his sister and for him to be her brother. But now the cat was out of the bag. She couldn't keep lying anymore.

"Lucas..." Riley started and then stopped. How did she even begin this conversation?

Seeming to notice her hesitation, Lucas spoke up, "Is it true?"

She closed her eyes briefly, taking a deep breath, before finally telling him the truth. "Yes."

Lucas shook his head with an incredulous look on his face, "Why would you do that? Why would you lie to me?"

"I didn't mean to." Riley admitted softly, "I just...I just wanted Maya to be happy."

Putting his hands on his hips, Lucas stared up at the ceiling and let out a heavy sigh of frustration, "When are you gonna stop doing that, Riley?"

Her eyebrows knitted together at his question, "Doing what?"

"Putting everyone's happiness - everyone's wants and needs - before your own."

She opened her mouth to speak, but he went on.

"Just this once, I wish you'd think about yourself. Stop thinking about what anyone else wants." 

He was on a roll and she was too in shock to stop him. Maybe a part of her didn't want to. Maybe these words were just what she'd been needing to hear all this time.

His eyes never wavered from her face as he spoke. "What do _you_ want, Riley? Do you really want me to be like a brother to you, is that it? Because if you tell me right now that that's what you want, I'll believe you. I _want_ to believe you."

He took a couple steps closer to her until he was close enough to touch her. Reaching out, he grabbed her shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes. "Tell me what you want, Riley."

She didn't know what caused it. Maybe it was just that she was tired of holding it all in. It had been building up inside her for months and she was finally ready to let it break free.

Swatting his hands off her, she got in his face and yelled, "I want you! Okay? Are you happy now? You finally got the truth out of me! Congrat-"

The word never finished leaving her mouth because before she knew what was happening, Lucas had grabbed her face and his lips were on hers.

Everything seemed to stop then: The world, time, her heart...it all stopped and it was just her and Lucas. No one else.

The kiss wasn't anything like the one she'd given him on the subway. This kiss had a kind of desperateness to it at first. Almost as though he needed to kiss her just as much as he needed to breathe. But then after a moment the pressure of his lips softened and he held himself there for a second before pulling away slowly.

Opening her eyes, all Riley could do was stare at him in awe, "Why did you do that?"

He was still holding her face in his hands and when he spoke, she could feel his breath on her skin. "Because I told you once that my moment would be my moment." He paused to glance at her lips before shifting his eyes back to hers. "And this was it."

She was pretty sure she stopped breathing at that point. The fact that he remembered something he'd told her two years ago...well, it just made her love him even more. _Love._ Yeah, she knew she loved him. But, did he actually feel the same way she did? The doubts started creeping in again as she remembered what Maya had told her happened in Texas.

"What about Maya?"

"What about her?" Lucas asked.

Riley pulled away from him and with a sigh took a seat at her bay window. "You care about her. I know you do."

"Of course I care about her, Riley." He walked over and sat next to her. "But I don't care about her the same way I care about you."

"No, you don't." Riley frowned while looking at her feet.

"Don't do that." Lucas reprimanded. "Don't tell me how I feel. I know how I feel."

"If you did, you wouldn't have almost kissed Maya." Riley snapped. "Things like that don't just happen for no reason."

Lucas was silent. Averting his gaze from hers, he nodded his head. "You're right. They don't just happen for no reason."

It sounded to her like he was admitting to what she feared all along. That he did have feelings for her best friend. But, he surprised her with his next words.

"Things like that happen to teach you something and if I wasn't sure then, I'm definitely sure now. I'm _never_ going to feel about Maya the way I feel about you."

She was in disbelief, "How can you be so sure?"

"Because," he grabbed her hand and held it to his chest, "I feel it in here. Just like I know you feel it, too."

Riley pulled her hand out of his grasp. Laying it on her lap, she avoided his gaze. "I don't want to end up losing you."

"What makes you think you're gonna lose me?"

"Everything," she said throwing her hands up. "I mean, that's what people do. They go out and then after a few dates end up hating each other. I don't want that to happen to us."

"Who says it'll happen to us? You don't know if it will." Lucas pointed out.

"And you don't know if it won't." Riley argued.

"That's the thing, though." Lucas reasoned. "Neither of us know what's going to happen, Riley. All of this that we're feeling is new and scary. I get it, okay? I don't want to lose you either, but how will we ever know anything unless we give us a try?"

She knew he had a point, but... "I don't know, Lucas. Maybe it'd just be better if we forget about all of this and pretend - "

"There is no pretending, Riley!" Lucas huffed. "These feelings that we have aren't just going to go away because we tell them to. We can't keep pretending to be something we're not. We have to at least try to be who we were meant to be."

"Then what are we meant to be?" Riley asked in exasperation.

Lucas took her hand in his and held it up in between the two of them. "This is what we're meant to be." He motioned towards their intertwined hands. "Lucas and Riley. Together."

Riley stared at their joined hands in silence. He'd laid it all out there for her. He wanted this, he wanted her. He was willing to put it all on the line to find out if things could work between them. If they could finally be what they've been building up to for the last two years. Could she be just as willing?

She could feel her eyes welling up as she told him one of her innermost thoughts. "I'm scared."

"I am too." He gave her hand a comforting squeeze. "But you know what?"

"What?" she sniffled.

He searched her face before answering. "You know how you believe in Pluto?"

She nodded. "Yeah?"

"Well," his lips pulled up into a small smile, "I believe in us."

She couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped her lips as his words started to lift the weight that had been on her chest for a long time.

Looking at their hands again, she smiled. "Look at us."

He followed her gaze and matched the smile on her face. "We're holding hands." His eyes shot up and met hers. "Still think we're bad at it?"

"No." Riley shook her head, "I don't think I ever did."

Lucas smiled. "So, what happens now?"

"I don't know." Riley shrugged, "Do you?"

"No," Lucas paused. "But I do know one thing."

"What's that?" Riley asked expectantly.

"Whatever happens...we'll face it together."

His words were sincere.  She could tell by the look in his eyes. He believed they could make it. He knew for certain how they both felt for one another. How could she ever try fighting this? This feeling inside of her was too beautiful to ignore and she was done pushing it away, pushing _him_ away. It was time to surrender.

"Together." she smiled and laid her head on Lucas' shoulder. Feeling a soft kiss on the top of her head, she closed her eyes in content.

There were a lot of things Riley was sure of. The world was scary. Change was even scarier. And feelings? Well, that was a hurdle she'd probably always be dealing with. But like she'd told Maya once before, "Whatever happens, happens." and she knew for sure that with Lucas and their friends by their side they'll be able to get through anything. Bring it on, high school.

 


End file.
